Principles of Consolidation and Basis of Presentation

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

Principles of Consolidation and Basis of Presentation

1. Principles of Consolidation and Basis of Presentation

Global Indemnity plc (“Global Indemnity” or “the Company”) was incorporated on March 9, 2010 and is domiciled in Ireland. Global Indemnity replaced the Company’s predecessor, United America Indemnity, Ltd., as the ultimate parent company as a result of a re-domestication transaction. United America Indemnity, Ltd. was incorporated on August 26, 2003, and is domiciled in the Cayman Islands. United America Indemnity, Ltd. is a subsidiary of the Company and an Irish tax resident. The Company’s A ordinary shares are publicly traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market. On July 6, 2010, the Company changed its trading symbol on the NASDAQ Global Select Market from “INDM” to “GBLI.”

The Company manages its business through two business segments: Insurance Operations, which includes the operations of United National Insurance Company, Diamond State Insurance Company, United National Casualty Insurance Company, United National Specialty Insurance Company, Penn-America Insurance Company, Penn-Star Insurance Company, Penn-Patriot Insurance Company, American Insurance Adjustment Agency, Inc., Collectibles Insurance Services, LLC, United America Insurance Services, LLC, and J.H. Ferguson & Associates, LLC, and Reinsurance Operations, which includes the operations of Wind River Reinsurance Company, Ltd. (“Wind River Reinsurance”).

The interim consolidated financial statements are unaudited, but have been prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”), which differs in certain respects from those principles followed in reports to insurance regulatory authorities. The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

The unaudited consolidated financial statements include all adjustments that are, in the opinion of management, of a normal recurring nature and are necessary for a fair statement of results for the interim periods. Results of operations for the quarters and nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011 are not necessarily indicative of the results of a full year. The accompanying notes to the unaudited consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the notes to the consolidated financial statements contained in the Company’s 2011 Annual Report on Form 10-K.

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Global Indemnity and its wholly owned subsidiaries. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

The Company’s wholly owned business trust subsidiaries, United National Group Capital Trust I and United National Group Capital Statutory Trust II, are not consolidated pursuant to the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification. The Company’s business trust subsidiaries have issued $30.0 million in floating rate capital securities (“Trust Preferred Securities”) and $0.9 million of floating rate common securities. The sole assets of the Company’s business trust subsidiaries are $30.9 million of junior subordinated debentures issued by the Company, which have the same terms with respect to maturity, payments, and distributions as the Trust Preferred Securities and the floating rate common securities.

Effective January 1, 2012, the Company adopted new accounting guidance that modified the definition of costs that can be capitalized in the acquisition of new and renewal business for insurance companies. Under the new guidance, only direct incremental costs associated with successful insurance contract acquisitions or renewals are deferrable. This guidance was adopted retrospectively and has been applied to all prior period information contained in these consolidated financial statements. For further information please see Note 2.